Governor Criticized for Poor Communications; Hawaii General Makes Surprise Announcement, Double Endorsement; A Hero’s Welcome

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Governor Criticized for Poor Communications

Too much Facebook and not enough face time?

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Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who used a number of new media tools to communicate with voters during his campaign for governor, such as livestreaming and twitter, is now being criticized by the media for being too uncommunicative.

Yesterday, Star Advertiser columnist Richard Borreca wrote about Abercrombie’s poor communication with media, and he isn’t the only one taking notice.

The governor’s office is still mum on the reason that four of his top staff members departed all in one week.

Atomic Monkey in this week’s cartoon in Hawaii Reporter compares the departure of Abercrombie’s four staff and 6 cabinet members before his first year in office concludes as rats jumping off of a sinking ship.

Note: As a gesture of respect, I didn't name all the furry departees (but, you know who they are).

Whether it is true or not, many people don’t believe that three of four left suddenly to spend more time with their families, as the governor’s office claimed.

Hawaii Reporter’s Jim Dooley pokes fun at the governor’s poor communication in his story. He notes the governor’s new communication director’s name is misspelled on the governor’s web site.

“It’s a tricky name to spell, but Jim Boersema has been around town and the Capitol for years,” he writes.

Boersema has been working in the communications department with the state Senate – and had just resigned – when Abercrombie picked him last week to replace the suddenly departed Communications Director Josh Levinson.

Hawaii General Makes Surprise Announcement, Double Endorsement, in U.S. Senate Race

Retired General Robert Lee, who headed Hawaii’s National Guard under Gov. Linda Lingle, made a surprise announcement last week that he would serve as Lingle’s campaign manager for U.S. Senate.

Linda Lingle with her campaign manager for her 2012 U.S. Senate Campaign, Retired General Robert Lee (Photo by Dave Livingston)

But the man who has not been in politics before made a second surprise announcement today in an editorial in Hawaii Reporter.

Lee is backing a second candidate, Tammy Duckworth in her campaign for an Illinois Congressional seat seat.

Lee worked with Duckworth in Iraq when she was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot. That is where Duckworth’s helicopter was shot down, and she suffered “horrific wounds.”

Lee says he has witnessed Duckworth’s personal courage as she learned to “walk on new legs, and then run on the treadmill at Walter Reed Hospital.”

Lee said he admires Linda Lingle, a Republican, and Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, because of the way they act when they are away from the public eye, and because of their leadership qualities.

A Hero’s Welcome

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. DJ Dutton returned to Hawaii this weekend to a hero’s welcome.

The 30 year old is an explosive ordinance disposal technician who is assigned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor at Hickam.

He was just about to return from a 6-month deployment in Afghanistan when he was severely injured on September 14 by an IED.

Although no one on his team was killed, several were severely injured.

Dutton received treatment at Brooks Army Medical Center, in Texas, during the past month, that included 8 surgeries.

The Vermont native was awarded the Purple Heart Medal for his actions.

His wife, Stacy, his two children, and members of his local unit welcomed him home on Sunday.

Dutton’s son, Jackson, is 4 months old now, but when Dutton left for Afghanistan, his new born son was just only 8 days old.

Dutton’s daughter, Madison, who is turning 4 years old today got the best present she could hope for – a hug from her daddy.

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  1. Duckworth was injured in Nov. 2004. Lee was selected as TAG in Jan. 2003. As far as I can determine, Lee was never deployed to the Middle East; although, he made numerous trips to the area to visit Hawaii troops. How could he have “worked with” Duckworth in 2004 when he was in Hawaii serving as TAG for Hawaii?

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